Association of Government Accountants of Hawaii establishes $50,000 endowed scholarship at Shidler College of Business

HONOLULU — The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is proud to announce the establishment of the Association of Government Accountants of Hawaiʻi Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Shidler College of Business. This scholarship was established to assist students pursuing an accounting or auditing career in public service and honor past and future Association of Government Accountants (AGA) Hawaiʻi Chapter Presidents, Officers, Directors, Committees, and members. The initial gift of $25,000 was matched by Shidler‘s Matching Funds for a total of $50,000.

Founded in 1976, AGA Hawaiʻi Chapter has approximately 150 members comprised of professionals from Federal and State of Hawaiʻi agencies, the City and County of Honolulu, international and local CPA firms, the University of Hawaiʻi, and various non-profit organizations. The chapter also has student members.

AGA currently has over 17,000 members with approximately 90 chapters throughout the United States and the world. Their mission is to serve government accountability professionals by providing quality education, fostering professional development and certification, and supporting standards and research to advance government accountability. The purpose of the Association and Chapter is to be a professional organization dedicated to the advancement of government financial management. AGA‘s programs are highly recognized and respected for its opinion and views, and as a result are solicited by government, professionals, and public and private institutions worldwide.

"For many years, AGA Hawaiʻi Chapter has supported the College‘s School of Accountancy, and its accounting clubs and students," said V. Vance Roley, Dean of the Shidler College of Business. "We are grateful to the AGA Hawaiʻi Chapter Executive Committee, and in particular, Shidler alumni, AGA President Spencer Lum, AGA Director and Scholarship Chair Kay Miyamoto and AGA Treasurer Patrick Oki for making this scholarship possible. This scholarship will help attract top students to our College toensure a quality work force for Hawaiʻi‘s public accounting community."

"Our AGA membership recognizes the importance of establishing a perpetual scholarship for accounting students at the Shidler College of Business," said AGA President Spencer Lum. "By supporting the education and development of accounting students with a career preference in the public sector, we are ensuring a healthier financially managed government in the future."

"We are grateful to the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) Hawaiʻi Chapter for its contribution and commitment to our accounting students," said UH Mānoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw."This scholarship will go a long way toward enabling students to reach their career goals in governmental accounting and cultivate a new generation of leaders."

About the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaEstablished in 1949 as the College of Business Administration, the College was named in 2006 after alumnus Jay H. Shidler, founder and managing partner of The Shidler Group. The Shidler College of Business is renowned for its expertise in international management education and is ranked among thenation's top 25 graduate schools for international business by U.S.News & World Report in 2008. Long recognized for its Asia-Pacific focus, the College is a professional school, offering a wide variety of degree, certificate and executive programs. The College places a strong emphasis on the development of management skills, entrepreneurship and the management of business information technology. The UH Shidler College of Business is the only graduate program in the State of Hawaiʻi accredited by AACSB International. For more information, visit www.shidler.hawaii.edu.

About the University of Hawaiʻi FoundationThe University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is an independent, university-related, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to raise private funds according to priorities determined by the academic leadership of the University of Hawaiʻi and approved by the Board of Regents. Founded in 1955, the Foundation providesa full range of fund raising and alumni relations services for all 10 UH campuses. For more information on the Foundation, visit www.uhf.hawaii.edu.